


Perchance to Dream

by Elennare



Category: High Rollers DnD (Web Series)
Genre: Episode 60 - "Under the Ash", Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:41:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23781784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elennare/pseuds/Elennare
Summary: Aila frowns as she approaches the door to the library. Once again, there’s light coming from it despite the late hour, as there has been for the past few days. Nova must be working late again… She walks up and looks in, ready for yet another repeat of the conversation they keep having, where Nova says she’ll go to bed soon and Aila knows she’s lying.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 20





	Perchance to Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dementorsatemysoup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dementorsatemysoup/gifts).



> For dementorsatemysoup - prompt was "would it help if I stayed" and Nova and Aila.  
> Spoilers for Episode 60, Under The Ash.  
> Title is from Hamlet (To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;/ For in that sleep of death what dreams may come).

Doing her usual last round of the ship before going to bed, Aila frowns as she approaches the door to the library. Once again, there’s light coming from it despite the late hour, as there has been for the past few days. Nova must be working late again… She walks up and looks in, ready for yet another repeat of the conversation they keep having, where Nova says she’ll go to bed soon and Aila knows she’s lying. As she’d expected, Nova is inside. Instead of the frantic note-taking of the last few nights, though, the genasi is fast asleep, head pillowed on a book. Aila hesitates for a moment. Maybe she should leave her, if she’s actually sleeping for once? But that can’t be comfortable, and she’ll probably get cold. No, she’ll wake her and make her go to bed this time.

Aila walks across the room and shakes Nova gently. “Wake up, Nova. You should go sleep in your bed, you’ll be more comfortable than here!”

Nova starts awake, looking more startled than Aila feels is warranted - she had tried to be gentle, after all. “Huh - where - what - I’m awake! I wasn’t sleeping!”

“Yes you were,” Aila replies. “And I’m not surprised, it’s late. Will you please just go to bed for once?”

For a second, Nova looks as if she’s going to argue, then she seems to deflate. “Okay, I suppose you’re right,” she says in a tiny voice.

Aila thinks she should feel pleased at finally winning this argument, but she feels guilty instead. “Why don’t you want to go to bed? Surely whatever it is that you’re researching can wait until the morning?”

Nova walks to the doorway and looks out, Aila following her. The hallway’s empty at this hour, everyone else asleep in their quarters. Still, Nova drops her voice as she hisses, “Not really, I’m trying to make sure Starbane can’t blow my head up in my sleep!”

“Oh!” Now Aila feels dumb, like she should have realised that. “Are you - no, we shouldn’t talk about this here. Let’s go to your room, you still need to get some rest. You’re not getting anything done by sleeping on your books!”

Nova sighs and nods, and they both head to her quarters. Aila makes sure she’s closed the door, then says, “Are you still worrying about that?”

“Of course I am! He can explode people’s heads! How are you not worrying about that?” Nova exclaims. 

Truthfully, Aila’s been trying not to think about it. Starbane magically exploding people’s heads is not something she can solve with her hammer, and Aila doesn’t like problems she can’t solve with her hammer. It’s not something she can solve at all - maybe the others could do something with their magic, but all Aila has is her hammer, her strength, her rage. None of those can protect Nova, and thinking about it just makes Aila furious, and scared, and furious at being scared. And now Nova’s scared too… Well, maybe Aila can do something about that at least.

“I don’t think he’s going to explode yours,” Aila finally replies.

“You don’t know that! He keeps talking to me in my dreams, and I know he’s getting mad at me, and what if he just loses patience entirely - ”

“Nova!” Aila cuts her off. “Calm down! You’re right, I don’t know he won’t, but I don’t think he will. He wants us to trust him, right? To come round to his side and work with him? Exploding your head would be a great way to make sure that never happens, and if I’m smart enough to see that, he is too.”

“He might do it to try and scare you into joining him,” Nova retorts - but she sounds just a little less panicky than before, so Aila thinks she’s on the right track.

“Still a dumb idea,” Aila says firmly. For a second, she considers pointing out that if that were his plan he might be more likely to attack Sentry, as the one least likely to join him or be intimidated by him, but she suspects that would just make Nova panic even more. Instead, she continues, “He wants Valla to like him, too, doesn’t he? That’s why he got us out of the Abbey and gave us the star fragment. He can’t very well tell her he hurt you and then expect her to still like him.” 

“That’s true…” 

“And if he did hurt you, we’d find a way to heal you! We did it for Sentry and Quill, and we’ll do it for you if we have to.”

“Thank you,” Nova says softly. “I know you would, but… I still don’t want my head exploded!”

“I bet you’re tougher than that guy we captured, anyway,” Aila answers rather desperately, feeling as if she’s reaching the end of her good arguments. 

Nova doesn’t look convinced by that one either. “I’m not tough, Aila.”

“Well… You’re smart! Smart enough to talk him out of hurting you. And smart enough to know that if you’re going to find a way to protect yourself from him, you need sleep.”

Nova actually laughs at that. “Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll… get some sleep…” She still looks scared, though, as she turns to look at her bed.

“Would… would it help if I stayed?” Aila asks. 

She feels silly asking that - what could she do, if Starbane did decide to attack Nova in her dreams? Sentry might be able to block it, or Quill to heal her from it, but Aila can’t do anything. But Nova turns back to her with a smile, eyes lighting up.

“Would you? Please? Just until I fall asleep… it’s not easy these days, I just can’t stop thinking and worrying, and I end up lying awake for ages.”

Aila smiles back. “Sure, I’ll stay if it helps.”

Nova reaches for her pyjamas, and Aila turns around to give her privacy, as she used to back on the Sparrowblade. How much easier things were back then… Well, until the Sparrowblade was attacked and fell from the sky, at least. But despite how complicated their lives are now, Aila wouldn’t go back for anything.

“This is just like the old days, when we used to share rooms, remember?” Nova says, echoing her thoughts. “I’m ready, you can turn back around - and why don’t you grab my chair? It’s weird if you’re just standing there.”

Aila does as Nova says, taking the chair from where it usually stands before the desk by the porthole and pulling it closer to the bed, then dropping down into it. Nova’s tossed her clothes over the chest at the end of her bed, and is getting between the covers now. Catching sight of her right hand, Aila frowns, seeing the gauntlet still on it.

“Do you wear that to sleep, too?” she asks.

“Not usually, but… it’s not nice to look at, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Nova replies, looking self-conscious.

“Well, that’s just silly,” Aila tells her. “I want you to sleep properly, you need to be comfortable for that! Take it off. It won’t bother me, I promise.”

Nova nods and unfastens the gauntlet. If Aila’s being honest, the bare white bones of the hand are an unsettling sight, especially flexing and stretching as Nova pulls the gauntlet off. But she has no intention of letting Nova see that, so she makes herself look at it, then back at her face, as naturally as she can. From Nova’s look, she suspects her friend’s realised she’s faking it, but she doesn’t say anything about it. 

“Thank you for staying with me, Aila,” is all she says, smiling up at her.

“That’s all right,” Aila brushes the thanks awkwardly away. “You just try to sleep.”

Nova closes her eyes obediently. “I used to have trouble sleeping sometimes when I was little, if I’d read something very exciting or scary before bed. I remember my mum used to sing lullabies to me…”

“I’m not doing that!” Aila retorts. “You don’t want me singing, trust me.” 

“No, I wasn’t asking you to sing, don’t worry,” Nova says with a giggle. “I was just reminded of that.”

“What did she sing?” Aila asks, curious. Lullabies were not something that happened much in the clan, certainly not for an outsider orphan… 

“She had a few, but this was my favourite,” Nova says, then starts to sing quietly.

She’s not singing in Common, but in some strange language Aila’s not heard before. It’s soft and breathy, filled with sounds like a gentle breeze or a rushing wind… This must be what Nova’s people spoke before they came to Aerois, Aila realises. She doesn’t say anything, content to listen. Gradually, Nova’s singing dies down, into the soft even breathing of a peaceful sleep. Aila sits there a while longer, making sure Nova’s fully asleep, then quietly lets herself out.


End file.
